Traditional paper telephone directory listings like the White Pages, Yellow Pages and industry specific directory listings have been known and used for decades. Online or Web-based directory listings are the Online analogues to their familiar, traditional paper counterparts. With the advent of the Internet and the Web (World-Wide-Web), many owners and publishers of these directories have begun to offer their services Online. These Online directory services are expanding beyond providing simply name, address and telephone information and have begun to offer E-mail directory listings, Web page address listings, fax directory listings, consumer tips directory listings, emergency provider directory listings and much more.
As in the case of their traditional paper counterparts, the publishers of these Online directory listings sell advertising space to businesses and organizations to cover the expense of compiling these directories. One of the advantages to advertisers in the Web medium over the paper medium is the use of multimedia in advertising. Multimedia technologies such as text, graphics, audio and full motion video on the Web are becoming common.
Nevertheless, the need to update Online Directory listings in a fast efficient method is hampered by the fact that the data source for the Online Directory entries, i.e., the name, street address, phone numbers, etc., are often stored in disparate and distinct custom formats by the owners and publishers of this data. The need to quickly load source data information from these separate directory listing entries into an Online Listing database is required. In addition, the ability to load disparate data sources whose format may change or be revised is essential.